The invention relates to a medical instrument, particularly to an instrument having a tool head and a handle joined by a tube, and to a coupling apparatus for coupling one or more of the aforesaid tool elements.
Conventional medical instruments typically include a tool head such as a surgical stapler, scissors, trocar, graspers or the like, connected to a handle through a tube element. The tube element is typically an elongated member which allows the tool head to be properly positioned for use in a patient as necessary. Such instruments are particularly useful in laparascopic procedures.
Obviously, with such a device sterilization of the instrument is a critical concern.
One approach to ensuring sterility in such an instrument is to provide the entire instrument as a single piece manufactured from plastic or the like so that the entire instrument can economically be discarded after use. This approach avoids the problem of sterilization. However, numerous tool elements and mechanisms, especially those contained in the handle, are unnecessarily discarded.
Another approach is to provide a handle and intermediate tube element as a single unit, for use with disposable tool units or tool cartridges. With this approach, the tool head or unit is discarded after use while the handle and tube are sterilized for reuse. With this approach, however, the tube can become sufficiently contaminated, because of its intimate contact with a patient during use, that the tube and handle structure must nevertheless be discarded. Further, the tube and handle structure can be an unwieldy and/or cumbersome structure to attempt to sterilize and may, therefore, not be sterilizable in conventional equipment such as conventional autoclaves.
It would be desirable to provide an instrument wherein the tube element, tool head and handle element are all conveniently separable elements of the instrument. Further, simple and reliable means are desirable for coupling such elements together, in either rotatable or non-rotatable manner.
It is therefore the primary object of the invention to provide a medical instrument wherein a tool head is joined to a handle element via a separate intermediate tube element which is conveniently separable from both the tool head and the handle.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a coupling apparatus for coupling the tool head, tube element and handle together in a secure, reliable, and conveniently separable manner.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide such a coupling apparatus wherein the coupled tool elements are coupled rotatably relative to each other.
It is another object to provide such a coupling apparatus wherein uncoupling of the apparatus is accomplished through a simple but deliberate procedure so that separation can be readily accomplished when desired, without risk of inadvertent separation.
Other objects and advantages will appear hereinbelow.